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Ikeuchi Mentaro
Ikeuchi Mentaro (池内 面太郎, Ikeuchi Mentarō; "Mentaro Ikeuchi"), also known as the "Ultimate Outsider" (最強の外敵, Saikyō no Gaiteki) and also as "The Revenger" (復讐鬼, Fukushū-oni), is a 2nd Dan karateka, formerly of the Nito Style school of Karate. He entered two Rokushin Kaikan Tournaments, including the no-holds-barred tournament. Appearance Ikeuchi has short, close-cropped hair and is fairly large, being noticeably larger than Kureishi Mitsuyo. His most distinguishing feature are his prominent cheekbones. He also has developed cauliflower ears over the months since the first Rokushin Kaikan Tournament. After abandoning karate, Ikeuchi stops wearing his gi and instead wears a pair of boxing shorts during his fights. Personality Ikeuchi is a noticeably driven individual. He is also humble enough to recognise and acknowledge his own weaknesses. History Six months before the beginning of Fist of the Seeker, Ikeuchi entered a Rokushin Kaikan Tournament and successfully made it to the final eight competitors before being defeated by Yamada Kentaro, an unprecedented feat for a non-Rokushin fighter, earning him the nickname "Ultimate Outsider".Chapter 1 (Seeker) Plot Troubled by the gap in strength between him and the rest of the Best 8 from the recent Rokushin Kaikan Tournament, Ikeuchi brought his concerns to his master, who confirmed his fears: Ikeuchi had reached the limit of his ability as a karateka and would not be able to improve from there. As a result, Ikeuchi decided to abandon karate. Two days later, Ikeuchi went to Shinjuku to meet Ito Juttosai and discuss his future. Afterwards, Ikeuchi asked Ito if he was up to spar the following week. The following week, Ikeuchi met up with Ito, who had also invited Kureishi Mitsuyo along. To the shock of both Ito and Kureishi, Ikeuchi demanded Kureishi fight him by MMA rules and without holding back. During the match, Ikeuchi countered Kureishi's attempts to grapple him with not only karate blows but also by employing counter-grappling measures he developed in the six months since the Rokushin Kaikan tournament. However, neither fighter was able to knock each other out and the match ended after time was up. Kureishi admitted defeat, while Ikeuchi bemoaned his inability to knock out someone who was both smaller and lighter. When a second Rokushin Kaikan Tournament was announced, Ikeuchi was initially reluctant to enter the tournament until he was confronted by his old enemy, Hayakuwa Samato, who declared that he would enter the tournament. In his sleep that night, Ikeuchi conducted image training, commanding his mental projection, "Blackie", to fight him as first Ito and then as Hayakuwa; after defeating Hayakuwa in his image training, Ikeuchi decided to enter the Rokushin Kaikan Tournament. On the day of the tournament, he arrived at the venue and was greeted by Kureishi. Fighting in the first match against Yamada Kentaro, who defeated him in the previous tournament. Yamada initially held Ikeuchi at bay with a storm of Brazilian Kicks, but Ikeuchi responded with a flurry of strong blows of his own leading to a comfortable victory over Yamada. Power & Abilities Even before "abandoning" karate, Ikeuchi was a formidable karateka, able to make it to the final eight of a Rokushin Kaikan tournament as an outsider. His sensei, Futoyama Baitatsu, even described him as his number one student. However, despite his first-class power and toughness, his Achilles' heel was his comparative lack of fighting intuition, which meant he would never be able to match the top level of karate practitioners. In response to his mental limitations, Ikeuchi branched out his techniques, learning grappling in order to create counter-grappling techniquesChapter 5 (Seeker) and shifting the focus of his blows to the meridian line to compensate for his lack of intuition.Chapter 19 (Seeker) Kureishi considers Ikeuchi a natural grappler, able to swiftly gain an understanding of grappling even after only six months. Technique(s) Nito Style (新刀流, Niito-ryū; lit. New Sword Style): The school of karate that Ikeuchi had been practising up until his first Rokushin Kaikan Tournament. Because the Nito Style allows blows to the face, which most karate styles traditionally do not permit, Ikeuchi also has an advantage in terms of the amount of damage he is able to withstand.Chapter 6 (Seeker) Notes & Trivia *Ikeuchi is a staff member at a .Chapter 10 (Seeker) *His karate career has allowed him to meet and befriend all kinds of people, including MMA fighter Kureishi Mitsuyo and kenjutsu fighter Ito Juttosai. References Navigation Category:Seeker Characters Category:Male